The Mountaineers were led on both ends of the court by junior Alex Ruoff. The 6'6" guard did a little bit of everything in the victory, from posting up Marquette star Dominic James early in the first half, to making some clutch 3s down the stretch as West Virginia pulled away with the victory.
Ruoff finished with 19 points, tying teammate Joe Alexander for game scoring honors. Ruoff made five shots from downtown, dished out four assists, and grabbed two steals to fill out the stat sheet.
By far his biggest contribution came on the defensive end of the court as he harrassed James throughout the afternoon, holding one of the Big East's most explosive players to just 10 points, only two of which came in the decisive second half. Head coach Bob Huggins unveiled a triangle-and-two look to contain James and fellow standout Jerel McNeal.
NET BURNERS
Ruoff's defensive effort was equaled by starting point guard Darris Nichols, who took turns with his backcourt mate containing James. Nichols also finished with 12 points and five assists in 37 minutes of play.
West Virginia's backup point guard, sophomore Joe Mazzulla, also turned in a solid effort iwth eight points and six rebounds while fighting through a tough thigh injury.
Sophomore forward Da'Sean Butler was again hounded by foul trouble, but maximized his time on the court with 13 points on 5-8 shooting while also collecting five rebounds.
After a horrid rebounding effort in the first half, the Mountaineers locked down on the glass for the final 20 minutes. The Golden Eagles bested West Virginia 21-16 on the boards in the first half, only to grab a total of five rebounds in the final frame. West Virginia finished the game with a 38-26 advantage on the boards.
"That's just an inexcusable effort," said Marquette head coach Tom Crean.